Hmm, http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ (Updated today) states that it is going on 21/04/07. Seems like a bit of confusion to me. If it is delayed until 23/04, can Orbital manage two launches about 48 hours apart? (AIM) Also, is there any indication of launch window?

"Posted by RCC on 2007-04-22 at 21:14:53 EST9:13 p.m. T-6 hours and counting. During the last hour radar and telemetry links have been checked. This will continue for the next hour as well as systems for range safety. The NASA weather officer has reported that the weather is acceptable to continue with the count. Current weather at Wallops is 61 degrees, clear skies and grond winds around 10 mph out of the south.

Posted by RCC on 2007-04-22 at 20:33:10 ESTThe last report should have been 8:12 p.m., Sunday, Arpil 22.

Posted by RCC on 2007-04-22 at 20:26:25 ESTAt 8:12 a.m. EDT. The countdown has started for the launch of an Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Missile Defense Agency's Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite. The support stations at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility have reported for duty. During the next hour radar and telemetry systems will be checked including links with our downrange supporting stations at Coquina, NC, and Antiqua. Also, personnel with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are making final preparations at the launch pad. Targeted launch time is 3:13 a.m. EDT. The launch window extends to 3:27 a.m."

Posted by RCC on 2007-04-23 at 01:13:06 EST1:13 a.m. T-2 hours and counting. Final arming of the Minotaur vehicle is continuing. During the next hour arming of the vehicle is scheduled to be completed,the launch pad will be cleared and the range radar and telemetry will go through pre-launch calibration.

Posted by RCC on 2007-04-23 at 02:13:01 EST2:13 a.m. T-60 minutes and counting. Vehicle has been armed. The range shortly will conduct a readiness poll to proceed with the final countdown. The launch vehicle team is making their final preparations for launch.

(msnbc.com – Oberg) Long-debated military satellite set for launchNFIRE has sparked years of controversy over missile-watching technologyApril 22, 2007 // 10:57 am // http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18248896/By James Oberg, NBC News space analyst // Special to MSNBC The U.S. military is about to launch a small missile-watching satellite after years of quiet preparation — and years of alarming reports from critics about its purpose. The NFIRE satellite is due to be sent into space early Monday from a Virginia launch pad. To the Defense Department, which owns and will operate the satellite, NFIRE stands for "Near Field Infrared Experiment." That encapsulates the mission's goal of observing the rocket plumes of military missiles to be launched past it later this year. NFIRE will map and characterize the brightness of the rocket plumes to help the Pentagon design future guidance systems for anti-missile weapons now under consideration. But to its critics, NFIRE could well be spelled “Fire!” — as in, “launch the weapon!” Some have branded the project as an irrevocable step toward the weaponization of outer space. The spacecraft's launch atop a commercial Minotaur booster, scheduled for 3:11 a.m. ET from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia's Wallops Island, could light a new fire under the debate.

I drove to Chincoteague Island, Virginia on Friday Apr. 20, to watch the Minotaur NFIRE launch. It was originally scheduled for Sat. morning Apr. 21, then shifted to today, Apr. 23, with a 3:11am (local) opening to the launch window.

As of 2:30am it was still on schedule, so I hopped in the car, and at 3:00am I joined a small group of hardy souls out on the Asseteague beach, which gave a clear view across the bay to the launch site.

Sadly, as you know, the launch was scrubbed at 3:05, and the park ranger ordered us all off the beach (it's part of a national park).

But there was a special bonus: a glorious view of the Milky Way across a beautiful dark sky! The beach facility has no lighting of any kind and is far removed any development, so once you turned your car off it was completely dark as you faced the Atlantic Ocean. As a city dweller I'd forgotten how spectacular the "true" night sky is. And this was spectacular indeed. The moon had set; there were zero clouds, and the stars were wondrous.

Posted by RCC on 2007-04-24 at 01:48:00 EST1:48 a.m. T-60 minutes and counting. Arming and vehicle closeout is complete. Telemetry and radar systems have been calibrated. Range is ready to proceed. The initiation of the final launch checklist has started.

ATK supplied the Orion 50XL and Orion 38 motors that served as Minotaur's third and fourth stages, respectively. These stages are manufactured in its Salt Lake City facility. In addition to being used on Minotaur space launch vehicles that Orbital produces under the U.S. Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital program, Orion motors are used on their highly successful, Taurus XL® and air-launched Pegasus XL® vehicle.

ATK's Clearfield, Utah facility produced the 50" and 38" diameter composite cases for the second and third stage motors, and the composite interstage that joins the two. ATK's Flexseal assemblies also allow the rocket motor nozzle to change the angle of thrust for steering control while providing a critical seal between the rocket motor and the nozzle.